Betrayal
by nycegurl
Summary: Keep your friends close... and your enemies closer. For Hermione Granger, that statement hits close to home.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: No… sadly enough I DON'T own Harry Potter because if I did, that would make me J.K. Rowling.

**A/N: **_I haven't written in so long! I really want to thank my beta, IrinawithanI, for making this story awesome.__I hope you like it._

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

Hermione Granger lifted her head and put down her quill when she heard the muggle actress from her favorite soap opera say that. She smiled because no one would have ever guessed that cheesy daytime soap operas were her guilty pleasure. Her smile became bitter, however, when she realized just how much the actress's statement mirrored her own life these past couple of months.

Hermione sighed as she settled further into the couch and continued writing in her diary. Months ago, if someone had told her that she would be upset over _him_, she would've told them to get their head examined.

She sighed while opening her diary to the most recent entry. After rereading what she had written, she decided to finish it.

_I realize that people change… or at least that's what I was hoping for. I know I shouldn't have expected him to be any different, Diary, but he really had me fooled. I don't even know why I'm really upset._

_I know it was all a game anyway but I wonder…who really played whom?_

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	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1

_7 months earlier_

_buzz buzz buzz_

Hermione rolled over and turned off her alarm clock. Today was the day she was NOT looking forward to. She got out of bed, brushed her teeth, took a shower and started to get dressed for her meeting with Remus Lupin. As she attempted to brush her frizzy-as-ever brown hair, she looked in the mirror and sighed as she realized how little she'd changed from her Hogwarts days. Although it had been three years since graduation, it still felt like it was yesterday.

For a brief moment, she wondered if she'd ever look anything more than ordinary. The thought left her mind as quickly as it came, however, when she realized that she had been staring in the mirror for five minutes too long.

"If I don't hurry up, I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed while hurriedly putting on her shoes.

She looked toward the kitchen in hopes of seeing something that she could make for breakfast quickly. Seeing that she had no time left, she figured that she never really had time to cook any food so today shouldn't be any different. Making her way toward the door, she grabbed her wand off of the kitchen table and promptly disapparated.

Panting and slightly out of breath, Hermione walked down the block. After apparating into a dark alley, she had decided to jog so that she could get to her meeting on time. Now that she was close to her destination, however, she had to look confident and calm—two things that she definitely wasn't feeling at the moment.

She kept reminding herself that she had no real reason to be nervous since she wasn't sure what the meeting was about. That thought didn't actually stop her from feeling nervous but she tried to be logical.

Stepping between two houses she thought: _The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London. _As expected, a house that hadn't been there seconds ago appeared.

She entered the foyer and tried to figure out where Lupin would be. She didn't have to wait long, though, because the door to the kitchen opened and out walked Remus Lupin.

"Hello, Hermione"

"Hi, Professor Lupin", Hermione said through a slightly strained smile.

"Hermione, you know I haven't been a professor for many years. Calling me Remus is just fine." Lupin replied.

Hermione blushed and nodded. She'd never get used to that. She noted that Professor Lupin—Remus--- appeared to be looking worse than usual. He'd been steadily declining ever since Dumbledore died four years before. The reason was that around that time, he received the position of the new head of the Order of the Phoenix. Most people had thought that Professor McGonagall would've become the leader since she was Dumbledore's second-in-command but the demands of being headmistress were enough for her to deal with.

"Come and take a seat", he said while gesturing to the old sofa.

After offering her some tea and making small talk for a couple of minutes, Remus decided to get serious.

"The reason why I've asked you here, Hermione, is that as you know, it's been such a hard task finding the sixth horcrux. We think that we may have a lead about the last one that we need before Harry destroys Lord Voldemort".

"That's great!" Hermione exclaimed with a puzzled look on her face. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"We need someone to find out the whereabouts of the last horcrux before we can make our last strike."

'_Would he just get to what he brought me here for'_, Hermione thought, _'All of this is making me wary that this isn't all good news'._

"One way to find out the information would be to infiltrate the Death Eaters—"

"How can I do that?" Hermione interrupted, "If you don't remember, _sir_, I am a muggleborn."

"That's not what we're asking you to do, Hermione".

Remus sighed, looking far older than his professed age, "What we want you to do is to become close to one of the Death Eaters and extract information from him"

Hermione looked surprised since that's not what she had been expecting Remus to say.

"Why would you choose me? I've only been a member of the Order for 2 years! I'm sure there are other people who are more qualified and more willing to undergo this mission."

"While there are people who have been members of the Order longer than you, you are the best person for the job. You're mature, level-headed and the brightest witch of your age. Asking anyone else to do this would be irresponsible on my part. I really believe in you and I think that you can handle this."

She blushed at the compliment but still had some doubts about how everything would work out.

"So how exactly do I go about getting close to one of the Death Eaters; they all hate me and want me dead, remember?"

"I doubt that he'll be able to harm you because the Ministry has been keeping an eye out on all known Death Eaters. In any case, I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to gain his trust and acquire the necessary information. The only request that I have is that you get started soon. We want to be able to end the war by this time next year."

Hermione nodded and resigned herself to her fate. She was glad that today was Saturday since she didn't have to worry about going to work. The day had taken a weird turn and she didn't know if she would be able to deal with anything else right now.

"I guess I'll go now. I have a lot to think about and plan", she stated while getting up from the couch.

"Thank you, Hermione. I really don't know what I would've done if you refused! I'm sure you'll be fine and if you need any help, just know that I'm here."

As Hermione grabbed the door handle to exit, Remus had one last thing to add.

"By the way, the Death Eater that you're assigned to is Draco Malfoy."

**Should I continue the story?? Read and review and let me know what you think!  
**


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